CLADNews: Delos introduces wellness building standards to China

CLADNews, December 7, 2015 By Kim Megson

US wellness real estate and technology firm Delos has taken a significant step forward in its push to promote health and wellness across the globe by forming a strategic partnership with one of China’s largest real estate developers.

Beijing-based company Sino-Ocean Land has pledged its long-term commitment to the WELL Building Standards established by Delos, which aim to transform new indoor environments into places that nurture, sustain and promote human health and wellbeing.

A new mixed-use project overseen by Sino-Ocean Land in the southern province of Guangzhou will be the first project in China to follow the standards. Delos will advise on the development, called Guangzhou Tianjiao, which will create 2.5m sq ft (232,000sq m) of residential, leisure and commercial space.

“We are thrilled that Sino-Ocean Land has committed to advance health and wellness in the built environment in China through the WELL Building Standard,” said Delos founder and CEO Paul Scialla. “We look forward to working together on the Guangzhou Tianjiao project and others moving forward.”

Ming Li, president of Sino-Ocean Land and vice president of China Real Estate Association added: “Sino-Ocean Land takes pride in this partnership and promoting the WELL Building Standard in China, which is aligned with our vision to develop wellness-centred human habitats.”

Several international environmental groups have campaigned for health and wellness to be improved in China, where air pollution remains a major concern. The US non-profit environmental group Berkeley Earth released a report in 2014, based on data collected by nationwide sensors, claiming that more than 80 per cent of residents in China are regularly exposed to pollution that far exceeds safe levels.

Delos says its international strategy is to create healthy indoor residential and leisure spaces worldwide. Its initiatives include creating air purification systems that reduce allergens, toxins and pathogens; infusing shower water with Vitamin C to aid healthy hair and skin; filtering water to reduce disinfectant byproducts and chlorine; and installing advanced room lighting that regulates the body’s melatonin production.

The WELL Building Standards provide a performance-based system for measuring and certifying the impact of these factors in new buildings. Delos claims these standards have already been followed across 20m sq ft (1.8m sq m) of building projects in 12 countries.

It has launched particularly high-profile wellness schemes in Belize with Leonardo DiCaprio and in Tampa, Florida, where it is masterminding a US$2bn (€1.8bn, £1.3bn) scheme for a new 40 acre urban development with wellness at its core.